


Repercussions

by SpaceShark



Series: Fire tests Gold [1]
Category: Batman (Comics), Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, DC Cinematic Universe, Justice League of America (Comics), Wonder Woman (2017), Wonder Woman (Comics)
Genre: Drama, F/M, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Slow Burn, Spoilers for Batman V Superman
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-04-10
Updated: 2016-08-20
Packaged: 2018-06-01 07:50:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 15,044
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6509308
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SpaceShark/pseuds/SpaceShark
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After Metropolis has been ravaged by Lex Luthor's harebrained schemes, Bruce Wayne and Diana Prince are left to deal with the consequences. They find themselves drifting towards each other as they begin the process of finding other metahumans and forming them into a unit that can better defend Earth.</p><p>However, an old foe from Diana's past threatens to tear them apart.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> It goes without saying that this is full of spoilers for Batman v Superman. Watch that first. 
> 
> This is my first attempt writing for the new movie universe DC has planned. While I don't think BvS was that good of a movie (yes I said it), I thought there was a lot for authors like myself to work with. In particular, Batman and Wonder Woman's flirting game of cat and mouse. 
> 
> This takes place before Suicide Squad, and incorperates a whole bunch of DC characters. I'll also be doing some educated guesses for how the Wonder Woman solo movie will go. Most chapters will hopefully be longer, between 2000-2500 words. Hopefully, you'll enjoy (and maybe comment).

_Batcave, below Wayne Manor, outside Gotham City_

He knew he shouldn’t have been enthralled. But he was.

_“I’ve known a few women like you.”_

_“There are no women like me.”_

Diana’s words went through Bruce Wanye’s head again as the two of them used the Batcave’s computers to search again for metahumans. It had been a month since Superman, aka Clark Kent, had been buried, a sacrifice to end Lex Luthor’s vain ambitions. And now it was just the two of them against any threat at Superman’s level or greater, at least until others could be found.

True, Bruce had had his fair share of beautiful, strong-willed women. Talia and Selina came to mind. But neither of them could hold their own against Superman in terms of strength. That alone made her worth looking into. And to keep close at hand.

“There, this one.” Diana pointed at a man dressed in a black and green suit, projecting some sort of green energy from his finger. “Hal Jordan. Air Force pilot, though he goes AWOL for unspecified lengths of time.” Luthor’s database was very thorough. He’d assembled an entire catalog of metahumans and everything that was known about them for the day Luthor would deal with them. And the file for Clark Kent was the largest of them all.

And now he was dead. It was just Bruce and Diana left to pick up the pieces and gather reinforcements. Alfred walked in with two bottles of iced tea. “As ordered, Master Wayne and Ms. Prince.”

“Thank you.” Bruce read into the file of Jordan’s background: Hal’s father had also been a pilot, and died when Hal was young. His son followed in his footsteps until an unknown object crashed in Coast City in California, not far from where Jordan worked as a test pilot. The disappearances began not long after that. They’d need to investigate further. That would start tomorrow. As Bruce escorted Diana to her late model Ferrari (clearly not belonging to her) he had to ask:  “How do you deal with the loss?”

“You mean Clark Kent? His death was done to save us all.”

“Not him. I meant Steve Trevor.”

Her eyes widened. Steve’s name had not been uttered by her for some decades. She didn’t know what to say. For once, the man who called himself Batman made her speechless.

“In case you haven’t noticed, I do my homework.”

 _Two could play this game. Bruce._ “It is a story for another day. I’ll see you tomorrow.” She got in her car and ignited the engine.

“See you too,” muttered Bruce as the Ferrari pulled out of the driveway of Wayne Manor and zoomed off into the distance. As he watched it go, Alfred came out and joined him. “Quite a remarkable woman, she is.”

“Don’t remind me.”

* * *

 

_Somewhere below the_ _Areopagus, Athens, Greece_

He had lain here, dormant, though beyond his control, for nearly a hundred years. He had tried to get out on his own. But he had failed.

Therefore, with what power he had while trapped, he had convinced many to try to free him. And many had failed him. The Axis powers of the Second World War had begged for his blessings like babies. They had been defeated before they could rescue him, though. Then came the Cold War, with its hypocrites on both sides. He had lured a number of them into attempting to free him as well, but that too failed. Then there was the Middle East, but even the bloodshed and savagery there could not undo the powers that had encased him under this rock.

No, it required a far more powerful being, one stronger than any human or weapon, to release him. And finally, it had happened. The battle between the two Kryptonians had been sufficient to nullify the magic that was supposed to keep him locked for eternity.

As Ares pushed the last rock away, he reminded himself that he would have to thank those responsible for his freedom. After giving the Amazons what they deserved, of course.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the next chapter. It kind of jumps from place to place, and I may have messed up some of the characterization, but I think it's pretty readable. Tell me what you think!

"You sure have a plan."

Admittedly, Bruce's plan was a last minute thing. Or last hour thing. In any case, it had the two of them go to Hal Jordan's apartment and waiting there for him to walk right in. Bruce was donning his Batman outfit, while Diana wasn't, going with a simple yet elegant gold dress.

Was there every a time this woman failed to look stunning, thought Bruce. Then again, she wasn't exactly a normal woman. And not like demi-goddesses and billionaire vigilantes teamed up that often. Make the most of it.

Fun time to be alive.

The plan was to "ask" Hal about his powers and then give him the rundown of what was being dubbed the "Justice League". It was Alfred's idea for the name, and it had stuck. The metahumans of this planet needed to be doing it for the right reasons, and justice was high in that list.

Then Hal walked in, and thinks fell apart fast. "That's strange, what's this-"

Before he could react, Batman jumped him from behind. However, a strange green light began to come out of nowhere, and threw Batman off of Jordan. His finger was now glowing and out of it a green sword.

All of this was in the matter of seconds.

"Who are you and what the hell do you want?" A few seconds later, after seeing Batman's costume, and seeing Diana in another corner of the room, he put two and two together. "You're that bat vigilante from Gotham? And you're that chick from the Metropolis fight?"

"Sit down, Jordan," grunted Bruce. "It's more important than you think."

* * *

 

He was not very trusting at first, but eventually Hal Jordan had been convinced to tell his tale, in return for Bruce and Diana for telling theirs. Hal had stumbled upon the dying owner of the "ring" that gave him his powers, and had been given it. From there, he learned that there was an entire "Green Lantern Corps", all which had their own rings. The rings were controlled by willpower, limited only by the user's imagination.

"So you're telling me there's a whole army of people with rings that have the power to create solid-light constructs at will? And I thought Superman was a threat-"

"Bruce." Diana forcefully put her hand on his arm, signaling for him to back off. "Hal, tell us of this Green Lantern Corps."

"It was founded by the Guardians, a group of beings even more powerful than Kryptonians. There are a couple of us in every sector of the known universe, patrolling it from the regular threats to civilization. Heck, we almost solved your Zod problem."

"Why didn't you?" asked Diana without anger, but still forcefully. She was the good cop in this situation; Bruce the bad cop.

"We had an internal power struggle. One of our former members, who decided to harness the yellow rings of fear, formed his own corps and launched an all-out war. It took most of the corps to beat him back, and unfortunately Zod's attack happened to coincide. If I could have been on earth instead, I would have."

Bruce contemplated. The idea of power ring wielding aliens having a civil war sounded preposterous to him. But then again, so did most of the things he'd seen and done in his career as Batman. Besides, Hal's facial expressions looked like he was telling the truth. "How long are your trips away from earth?"

"Months, usually. I've got an entire sector of this galaxy to patrol, and there's a lot more worlds with civilization on them. Oh, we are so not alone."

Bruce looked mildly surprised. Diana, on the other hand, didn't. She'd seen plenty in thousands of years to know it was a big universe. "Far from it. I presume you know about what happened in Metropolis recently?"

"Yeah, I watch the news. Weren't you two involved in that, and didn't Superman die?"

"He did," answered Diana. "And without him we are left without one of the strongest protectors of the earth. You surely know how vulnerable our planet is, given your time in the Green Lantern Corps."

Hal raised an eyebrow. "We try to keep the universe safe as whole."

"And Earth? You don't wish to be away while your planet is in danger, right?"

"What are you suggesting?"

"A team," said Bruce, "of all the people on this earth that can readily defend the planet. You are one of them. That ring could have taken on Superman."

"What are we calling it?"

"The Justice League."

* * *

 

"He didn't seem too keen about it," said Bruce afterwards, on the Wayne Industries private jet.

"He'll come over. Give him time." The good cop/bad cop technique eventually worked on Hal Jordan, but he was still pretty suspicious. Granted, the details were still being written and a roster not exactly defined yet, but it was understandable why Green Lantern wouldn't want to jump right in. They'd need to give him time.

Oh, and she knew the importance of time to men. A year to them was a month to her, so she always found herself waiting in the world of men. But Bruce Wayne didn't make her wait, with his seemingly always sullen gaze and ruggedly appealing features, along with a physique that had to be near the limits of human strength. He was a man that clearly valued order and efficiency above all else.

Occasionally looking out his window into the clouds, Bruce would have said similar things about Diana. Most men would have looked upon her as something to be desired, that was a given. The only thing with that was that she obviously didn't settle down for anyone. He could tell she cared little for what the world of men thought of her. As long as she did her job and everyone went home safely.

He needed more people around him like that, ever since Dick had gone to Bludhaven and Jason…

 _Goddamn Bruce, don't think about it. It wasn't your fault. It was Joker's._ And in retrospective, he should have killed that psychopath then and there. Instead, he still obeyed the no kill rule at the time, and the Joker had gone on to give Gotham more grief.

"You look troubled."

That was Diana. Add mind reading to Amazon powers. Or at least she'd called herself an Amazon. It would have to be something to investigate later.

"It's nothing, really."

"Your face betrays your thoughts. It's nothing personal, all men seem to suffer from it. Those that didn't lacked empathy or worse."

"And what would you know of that?" Bruce kept a straight face on, but it was a thinly veiled attack. He'd done it multiple times in his career of painfully extracting information.

"Remember that photograph? It came from a time called the First World War, or I think it was called."

Bruce smirked. "I'm not stupid. I'm well aware of human history."

Diana smiled back. "You obviously don't know that humans have been influenced by more powerful beings even before the Kryptonians arrived. I watched entire cities succumb to the wants of a bratty god having a tantrum."

"Let me guess: the _Dodekatheon_ were also based in reality, and not just myth."

"Humans have exaggerated some of their feats, but the core of it is true. As for World War I, that was the doing of Ares. I witnessed Europe burn at the hands of the god of war. I think I'd be able to relate to whatever's troubling you."

"I usually don't let people into my deepest memories. You already know I'm Batman."

"And what am I going to do, hand you over to the United Nations?" She twitched an eyebrow. "Besides, I already told you one of mine. Your turn to even the scales, Mr. Wayne."

* * *

 

A few hours later, they were in Gotham. Crime fighting never took a night off. Diana stayed at Bruce's penthouse suite. He was adamant about not wanting her out and able to be seen. The Batman had already attracted enough attention, the last thing he needed was authorities invisgating the woman fighting alongside Superman and Batman during the destruction of Metropolis. She obviously didn't like it, but she accepted it.

"Alfred will be on call if you need anything," he said to her before heading out. "Gym's on the third floor, if you're interested. Don't do anything to attract attention."

"Athena be with you, Bruce," she said back as he fired his grappling hook and climbed onto the adjacent skyscraper.

 _She talks about the Greek gods of legend as if they are fact._ The rest of the plane ride had made it abundantly clear that if the world knew more about the Amazons, they would launch an all-out assault on Themyscira. Even knowing that seemed like too much for Bruce to know, in Diana's eyes. The feeling was mutual; he didn't really want to tell the tale of Jason's death again. But if it would mean securing the trust of a needed ally, it would be done.

"I'm sorry," she had told him after he explained how Jason died. "He must have been like a son to you. I too have experienced such… personal loss."

Bruce didn't press her on that. He'd done enough, and besides he knew his limits.

As he put his mind back into now, scaling the walls of the abandoned Gotham Central Hospital, he noticed that someone had tagged him. He only relaxed when a woman in a catsuit and short, stylized black hair approached him. Selina Kyle, better known as Catwoman. "Hello, Bruce."

"Hello, Selina." They knew each other's activities, and they agreed to keep quiet about the other. "What are you doing here?"

"Going to help you, it seems. I ran out of corrupt old men to steal from for the moment."

"I don't need your help."

"I know you don't, but it'll make your job easier, and it'll be fun," she purred. His relationship with Selina had been on and off when it had existed. Currently it was off, but she still harbored feelings for him. He thought it was a waste of effort on her part.

"Fine," he relented. "The Serbians have been spotted at this abandoned hospital more than once. I don't recall them getting involved in the organ harvesting business, so I'd thought I'd pay them a visit next time I found them here. Follow my lead. Don't get spotted."

"Hmph," was her cranky reply as he slowly removed a window on the fifth floor of the building and snuck inside. One of the henchmen was making his way in the dark, a flashlight attached to his AK-47. Easy enough. All he had to do was sneak up behind him and put a glove on his mouth, with a breath that smelled like vodka.

True, Batman killed occasionally. But he only did it when he had no other feasible or pragmatic option. Most occasions, such as this one, he didn't need to use lethal force. "Selina, tie him up. I'm going after the rest."

"Am I really cleaning up your messes?"

"You said you wanted to help. You can start with him." Without another word, Bruce continued on, using the night as his ally. After subduing two more henchmen patrolling the rest of the east wing, he descended onto the main lobby, which had fallen into disarray. There were at least twelve more men, not including Radko "Cain" Vukovic. He had earned the nickname after backstabbing and killing his elder brother, founder of the Serbian mafia in Gotham. He ruled his organization with an iron fist and feared little.

 _You'd better fear me._ Bruce dropped a smoke pellet and let them stumble around for a while, then signaled for Selina to come down and grab the first of them with her whip, hoisting him high from the mezzanine. The rest heared, cursed in Serbian, and began firing in all directions. Batman swooped down, grabbed one man, and used him to be thrown into another, taking out two birds with one stone.

The two of them then engaged in melee fights, taking out their opponents with lightning speed. Catwoman slashed and hacked with her customized "cat claws", while Batman preferred his gloves, made to be durable and survive punching steel. They were easily strong enough to break bone, and at least a few jaws and ribcages snapped under their weight.

A hail of bullets barely missed Batman. That would be Cain himself, armed with an MG4 wielded in just one hand. "You're dead, Batman!" rang a voice with a heavy accent. The firing continued, and Batman and Catwoman both took cover behind the reception desk. The rest of the conscious Serbians added to the firepower.

"Alright," said Bruce, thinking of a plan. "We'll flank-"

Several thuds were heard, followed by a cry in Serbian. Whoever cried out was then thrown to where Catwoman was crouching, who swiftly proceeded to subdue him as well. After a few more grunts and struggles, Bruce decided to look up and see what all the fuss was about.

Cain was struggling to escape the clutches of Diana herself, geared up as she was for Doomsday. If she could hold her own against Kryptonians, then ordinary thugs were the equivalent of flies.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't think she's one to being told what to do, let alone stay away from a good fight.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> An incomplete chapter, but I just wanted to let it out. Enjoy.

Diana, in all her battle hardened glory, dropped Cain in front of Bruce and Selina. "All yours."

"I told you not to leave my place."

"I'm not one to be told what to do. Consider this a warning." She put her sword back in its sheath and took out a long, golden rope. "I presume you seek information from this man?"

"You presume too much."

"Who's this?" asked Selina, curiously. She looked Diana straight in the eye. "Cute accent. You always had a thing for the exotic ones, Bruce."

Ignoring her, Bruce went up to Cain, punched him to restore consciousness, and growled, "No one breaks into an abandoned hospital without good reason. Explain."

"Go fuck yourself." Cain had taken a number of beatings over the years, but his face always seemed to restore himself afterwards. He must have had a very expensive surgeon.

Bruce was prepared to punch him a few more times. That usually did the trick with mob bosses. But instead, Diana stepped forward. "Let me try."

"What makes you think you'll have any different effect?"

She smiled and coiled the rope. "This is the Lasso of Truth. Anyone who is caught in it is forced to tell the truth." She swiftly swung it around Cain, tying him up neatly, and pulled him towards her, forcing him to scrape the dirty hospital floor. "Answer him. What are you doing here?"

The lasso glowed briefly, and then Cain began talking: "Hired by anonymous cutouts. The money was good – half a million for taking the job, and another half once we delivered, so we took it."

"And what were you going to do here?"

"Steal a number of expensive anesthetics that the doctors forgot about when it closed. Our client was very insistent that we deliver that, alongside tools, medical records of former patients… Do you want a list?"

Batman frisked him and found a small notebook containing the original letter of the requests, a series of cutouts that would make tracing him harder. But it could probably turn out something in the Batcomputer. He knocked out Cain and the rest of his men groaning on the ground, and the three of them tied them up, while Bruce called Gordon.

"Quite a fighter, that one," said Selina to Bruce privately. "Where'd you find her?"

"She came to us. Metropolis. Saved me and Superman."

"Last I checked, Superman's dead."

"And I would be too, if it weren't for her intervention." He strongly remembered how he expected to die by Doomsday's laser beams, only to find Diana's shield (another godly gift, he presumed) had been enough to end it. "Also, Superman wouldn't have been able to sacrifice himself if I hadn't came up with using my own Kryptonite weapons against Doomsday."

Selina frowned. Her harbored feelings for Bruce didn't really match up to saving the world. "Just know what you're getting into. Do that research you always do, and make sure she's not a threat."

"Or rival?"

"You know what I meant."

* * *

"They're all loaded in there." Jim Gordon was pushing sixty but still was in the GCPD, possibly for some sentimental value at this point. His kids moving had created a void, and that void was easily filled by remaining Gotham's police commissioner. And with it came rounding up all of Batman's garbage, and taking it to trial.

"Good. Keep a watch on the Serbian's safehouses and front clubs in East End. They may be getting a prominent customer very soon.

"Will do, Batman. And I advise you keep 'Wonder Woman', as the media has dubbed her, out of the spotlight. If any of my men know-"

"You're telling me things I already know."

"Just making sure." Gordon said.

* * *

"I still fail to see why you felt the urge to go out and fight." Bruce was trying to make headway with Diana, and thus far it wasn't working. There were back at the penthouse, in the gym. It was late in the night at this point, and there wasn't anyone else.

"I am an Amazon. We need to fight. Your world has so much that Ares would draw from. It is our duty to rescind that."

"And I'm not?"

"You're going the best to your ability. But I fail to see why you did not kill those men once you got the information you needed."

 _She really is an Amazon of legend,_ thought Bruce. With eternal youth and superhuman strength, a whole group of these women would cause hell on earth should they choose to do so.

"I don't kill because I want to. There's a line between killing out of necessity and killing because I want to."

Diana frowned. "And who draws that line? How do you know that the men you lock up won't come back to steal and kill again?!"

"I don't, Diana. I can only hope they don't sin again, but killing as a method makes one no better than the evils of the world."

"I used to believe the same thing," said Diana, this time more softly "Until Ares proved that wrong."

_Belgium, 1918_

_The war to end all wars, as Steve had put it, was coming to an end._

_The Americans had finally arrived in sufficient numbers to beat back the Germans. Even the Kaiser, who Ares once had eating out of the palm of his hand, had seen what was going to happen and was fleeing to neutral Holland._

_Unwilling to concede that the war was ending, as it would mean a vast decrease in power, Ares had taken his army of monsters – centaurs, harpies, griffons, and undead soldiers of every era and nation – to the country where so much of the war had been waged over – Belgium. He was targeting the Allied command nearby, as slaughtering them would doubtlessly prolong the war._

_Diana, Steve, and many of the Amazons had joined the Allies in launching this effort in stopping Ares from continuing the war. But they knew that he would only draw energy from this fight, which was why time was of essence. Antiope, Diana's aunt and one of their most experienced fighters, had volunteered to fight Ares as to keep him from focusing on the battle itself._

_Now, as Diana struggled to keep a Cyclops away from slamming his club into her, she saw the god of war and the general of the Amazons locked in single combat. Antiope was a skilled fighter, but it took all of her energy just to stay on the same footing as Ares, battling with an axe in one hand and a large sword in the other._

_Finally, a moment occurred. An undead soldier of Ares was knocked into the war god's personal space. By the time that Ares had thrown the helpless zombie off, Antiope had him where she wanted. She knocked away both of his weapons and had her blade at his neck. While a god technically couldn't be killed in the traditional sense, a blow that would kill a man would incapacitate a god for years._

" _It's over, Ares."_

" _Indeed. I concede. Now, get this ridiculous excuse for a sword off my neck and take me prisoner."_

_Antiope hesitated. She knew that Ares could summon one of his followers to attack her the moment she let her guard down. But Amazons were supposed to be better than the sadistic god, and have more honor. She reluctantly sheathed her sword and began drag Ares away._

_A lethal mistake._

_Not two seconds after Antiope began dragging him up, Ares pulled out a short sword, hidden in his armor, and stabbed her with it, with all his force behind it._

" _Can't say you're the first Amazon I've killed," he said remorselessly, "but you're the first to die that matters. Quite a shame. I wish I had someone of your prowess fighting for me." Then Ares dropped her body without a second thought, picked up his weapons, and began fighting the next Amazon in sight._

_As soon as Diana saw what had happened to her aunt, she knew what to do. She'd been trained to resist the urge to cry over her fallen sisters in battle, and this was no different. However, that didn't mean that she couldn't exact revenge. The blade Circe had been coerced to give to her was dipped in a substance that would deprive Ares of his powers that fed off fighting._

_And she planned to drive it straight into her half-brother's heart._

"And so now you know," said Diana to a Bruce that once again was deep in thought. "I gave up the world of man, of killing with hesitation, the day he killed my aunt. Why should I spare anyone that wouldn't do the same for me?"

Bruce had been asked this question by every boy he'd taken in and called Robin. Hell, half his police allies asked him variations of it. Why go without killing when your enemies wouldn't do the same?

Enough. Time to tell it to a demigoddess of the hunt.

"Because we're supposed to be better than them. At least in theory."

_East End, Gotham, years earlier_

_He'd found the Joker. Engaged in yet another plot to poison City Hall. He'd been defeated, of course, but Bruce could never forget what he'd done to Jason._

_Maybe he'd choke the life out of him. Maybe he'd rip out his organs, piece by piece. Or his face could be beaten into such a bloody pulp that no one would recognize him anymore._

_Batman was opting for that third option._

_As Bruce ripped out another tooth, a gunshot grazed him. Using his vision, he knew that this was Jim Gordon._

" _You make another move at him, and the next one goes in your head."_


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for the very late (and short) chapter, but a lot has happened in the past two months. Firstly, my dad passed away late April, and I was heavily involved in a lot the fallout from that. Also, I've been taking several summer classes, and that limits my time to write fanfiction a lot. So this probably isn't my best work. Do try to leave comments and kudos though. They're very encouraging.

Bruce turned the pillow on the cold side for the fifth time tonight.

He couldn't sleep.

He'd told the story of Jason Todd's death for only the third time in his life. After Gordon had shot at him, he'd given Batman a long statement on how Batman shouldn't be descending into the same kind of tyranny he'd sought out to weed.

Ultimately, he got up, went downstairs, and opened up the refrigerator for a cold beer. As he finished it off, he refreshed his senses and reminded himself yet again of the cost of being a hero.

What a word.

Though the Amazon fit it much better. She could snap him like a twig whenever she wanted. Hell, he still wondered if she was capable of killing Superman.

Little things like that kept him attracted to her.

So beautiful, so powerful, and yet the Amazons weren't waging a war on society for dominance of the planet. Clearly her people had a higher code that regular, measly humans that he spent years trying to fix.

* * *

The next person on the list was Silas Stone. After earned his PhD at Duke, Silas took a luxurative job offer from STAR Labs, offering him anything to work on various pet projects, all while being paid handsomely. His son Victor had been interning for the last year at STAR as well, until a few months before the Doomsday incident, when he'd gone missing. However, the files obtained from Luthor offered an explanation.

After an unknown accident that clearly was near fatal for Victor, Silas began experimenting with various technologies, both human and extraterrestrial, to save his son's life after modern medicine and all other conventional methods had failed. The Luthor files went into a handful of details about what was replaced and modified, but the specifics were nowhere to be seen.

"Where is he?" asked Diana.

"Don't know," answered Bruce. "From my sources he keeps travelling from place to place, probably to keep his son's transformation a secret. But there's something coming up that I know he won't miss." He pulled up a webpage showing a science convention at Gotham State University. "There'll be a gala tonight, with several astrophysicists speaking. That's something Silas Stone wouldn't miss; he's been to this event several times in the past."

"And you plan on attending?" asked Diana, a sly smile on her face.

Bruce responded in kind. "Yep. And I'm sure having a visiting Greek emissary would make the perfect cover."

"Don't tell me I'm to be another supposed conquest of the famed playboy Bruce Wayne."

"Hardly. Last I checked you're more than my equal in many things."

* * *

It reminded her of their encounter in the museum, where he'd been able to discern that the sword on display was a fake. Of course, that was because the real one was her personal weapon, but the fact that he'd put all the clues together had amused. Also reminding her of the encounter was the fact that both of them were dressed the same as that night: her in the same white silk dress, him in one of his many made to order tuxedoes.

The two of them walked around, and amongst light classical music, Diana began taking mental note of all the prominent Gothamites in attendance. Hedge fund managers, angel investors, retired professors, and of course other idle billionaires alike all converged and separated at times, looking like they just wanted to build the necessary connections for a good social life.

"Ah, Bruce! There you are."

Diana turned to see a man about Bruce's age and size, with a patch of stubble everywhere. Bruce was clearly an old friend, as he embraced the other man. "Thomas, there you are. Diana, this is Dr. Thomas Elliot. One of Gotham Memorial Hospital's top surgeons."

"Pleased to meet you."

"I like the accent on her, Bruce. Russian?"

"Greek." Or close enough, though Diana. Themyscira was located in the ancient region of Pontus, on Turkey's Black Sea coast, but given how isolated her home was, no one could tell the difference unless they really tried.

"Interesting. Where'd you find her, Bruce?"

"She's a friend from the Greek embassy."

"Well, Bruce, I hate to flatter you, but you sure pick out a lot of beautiful friends for dates. I wonder why you haven't been married yet."

The three of them made some more small talk until an announcer from a podium began to call for an end to talking and a beginning of the presentations. Bruce, Diana, and Thomas all took their seats as the first person to show off did so.

Throughout the show, Bruce kept his eyes on Silas Stone. The man wasn't as talkative as the last few times, keeping to himself and constantly checking his phone. Or at least he thought it was his phone. He couldn't tell; Silas was sitting in the direction of Diana, and she was a pleasant distraction.

Between Bruce's not so subtle ogling, Diana couldn't help but notice that Thomas seemed a little bit off. Almost as if…

No, it couldn't be. It had been a century since the last time it had happened.

Then again, anything was possible.

* * *

Within the netherspace that was called the dominion of Ares, Thomas Elliot stumbled through what he knew were imaginary challenges of trapdoors and mythical beasts.

"S-Sir, he is here, like you said-"

"Ah, but you did not say that the Amazon would, now would you?"

Ares was in his full battle gear, made to intimidate. It had Elliot near pissing in his pants.

"Go back to the world of man and await my servants. Loyal as they are, they have a nasty streak for violence, and even I don't approve of it at times. Should you wish to really be called Hush, your Serbians would never have been caught. Redeem yourself."

And just like that, Thomas was back in the Earth. He tried his best not to stand out anymore.

* * *

After the presentation, Bruce and Diana approached Silas Stone. The doctor was in the middle of a conversation with some of Gotham's more stuck up citizens, squeezing him over funding. Once that charade was finished, Silas turned to find Bruce Wayne and his date in front of him. _Calm yourself, Silas. It'll be done with, and you can go see Victor later._

Diana was strongly considering just taking the lasso, pulling Stone aside, and having him spill the beans on his missing son and his "improvements". But Bruce had been against it. He preferred to be his natural, charming element, in his words. He pulled him aside for a few words, into a more private room that Wayne had reserved, leaving Diana to guard the door.

As Bruce did his work, Diana noticed something that indicated the presence of gods. It was the unnatural feeling that she, as the daughter of Zeus and a princess of the Amazons, had been given at procreation. She heard it, and then heard it again. The third time, she knew exactly what it was: the machinations of Ares. She could sense Ares attempting to manipulate someone or something at this convention.

But how? He was still imprisoned in his cell, created solely for him at the end of the First World War.

It didn't matter. Ares' prescence was here. They needed to investigate. "Bruce we-"

"Not now, Diana. You're interrupting at the good part. Silas here remade his son stolen Kryptonian tech. Can you believe it?"

Silas was standing as if he was going to piss his pants. She was interested, but would have to hold off on her interest. "We need to go. I can feel the mark of an old foe in the air."

"How?"

"Out of all things you've seen me do, and you ask how I know an enemy is at the door?"

Bruce shrugged his shoulders. "Still need to know everything, dear."

"Why?

"I'm Batman."


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Probably not my best work, but I'm interested to see your thoughts on it.

It didn’t take long for Bruce and Diana to suit up. The Batmobile was always conveniently located a few blocks away from wherever Bruce Wayne happened to be visiting, and inside was a batsuit and the regular assortment of gadgets. For Diana, there was a doppelganger of her battle clothes, along with a shield and sword that looked just like the originals.

“Not exactly the exact thing, but I tried my best from scans and my own analysis,” said Bruce as she inspected the sword first, and then the shield. “I don’t know of any Hellenistic magic, but they are made with best Waynetech offers. The sword is lined with carbon fiber mixed with leftover Kryptonite, impossible to see to the human eye and cuts at a molecular level. Same goes for the shield. It was forged out of an Nth metal meteorite I found in Australia. I didn’t know what to do with it until you came along.”

She smirked. Her gauntlets were still on her arms, and in most scenarios that was all she needed. But given that this was Ares they were dealing with, it was nice to have a spare set of weaponry. She wasn’t able to admire it for long, though, because something came crashing into her.

Struggling to get it off of her, she immediately realized that it was some servant of Ares. However, it wasn’t some ordinary mythological beast. This thing was feminine, wore specialized armor, and was accompanied by a phoenix like being named Daimon.

Tisiphone. One of the three Main Furies and tormentor of minds.

But that meant that there must be other Furies. Last she checked, Ares was unaffiliated with them and they were at an uneasy peace with the Amazons. Unless, of course, Ares had made a deal with them, granting them demigod powers in exchange for freeing him from his prison.

She’d find out later. The first priority was getting Tisiphone. “I thought the Furies didn’t actively intervene in the world of man.”

“Perhaps in a world where people didn’t know of germs,” said the Fury, her voice waspish and vile. “But there are only three gods worth worshipping in this century, and the most powerful of those has offered great rewards for those who accompany him.”

“Maybe you should have followed Aphrodite and softened your hardened hearts,” replied Diana, throwing Daimon off of her. “Or Athena. Ares is no strategist.”

“His thirst for vengeance more than compensates.” Tisiphone lashed at Diana with her claws, small as a woman’s nails but able to cut solid rock with a slash. The shield held up, but Diana would have preferred her own, as the Fury struck again and again, trying to wear the Amazon down. Across from her, Batman, suited and now wearing a customized gas mask, was fighting three lesser furies, which could be taken down much more easily. A smoke pellet, for instance, easily confused. From there, Bruce just had to fight physically.

Not so easy with Tisiphone.

As soon as Diana attacked with the Kryptonite sword, the Fury of the Mind launched her next barrage: yellow tinted projections of snakes. Like a hydra, they flew from her hand and slithered and coiled towards Diana. The Amazon cut several down easily, but the others seemed to have minds of their own and moved just out of reach, preferring to attack at leisure. As she began to slice down the last one, it dodged her thrust and began to launch itself towards Batman.

“Look out!” Diana yelled at Bruce, to warn him of the impending danger. But Bruce had already seen the yellow snake entity, and threw a batarang at it. However, when the sharp metal object collided with the snake, it merely split in two. Two new heads, like the myth of the Hydra: cut off one head, two more shall take its place.

“Not so easy, man who dresses as a bat,” teased Tisiphone. Then a multicolored cloud engulfed her, and she disappeared. The two headed snake remained, however, just as eager to kill Batman and Wonder Woman.

The two-headed Hydra actually wasn’t all that powerful with its master away. But as Diana cut off the second head and let its power fade into oblivion, she knew where Tisiphone was heading. “We need to get to City Hall.”

“Why?”

“Ares is there. He’s gathered some Furies there to attack his target.”

\---

Ernst Matterson hated constant diplomatic trips. He hated being from his native Belgium to be sure, but being one of the UN Secretary General’s aides made things even worse. Currently, he was attending some private gathering that was being described in hushed tones and menacing implications, though he’d gathered enough information to know this regarded the status of metahumans around the world.

Gotham didn’t have a history of being a city of diplomacy in the past. But recently, the US government had established State department offices not far from the Narrows, as well as giving several countries consulates there. Among them were the Greek, Turkish, and Romanian consulates, and the leading diplomat assigned to each of them, along with their staff and Matterson, had gathered to discuss a new metahuman race: the Amazons.

Matterson believed it was ridiculous. But then again, given the destruction of Metropolis at the hands of aliens that wanted to colonize the planet, a superhuman race native to Earth wasn’t out of the question. The Turkish ambassador had received reports and photographs of a warrior woman settlement on Turkey’s Black Sea coast, and all attempts at contact had failed.

Matterson sat and watched as the Romanian, invited because of the country’s sizable navy and connections to the EU, dismissed the whole thing as sheer folly. In heavily accented English, he said, “Insane. Just send some troops to confirm your suspicions.” Behind a carefully trimmed beard and a swarthy complexion was simple disgust at what should have been something easy

“We tried,” said the Turk. “They refused to talk, and our troops did not want to create a scene. They also used what our troops called magic, for lack of a better word, to keep themselves from being seen afterwards. So it was left at that. We asked because a better display of international force-“

A loud rumble was heard, shaking the dimly lit conference room within the Greek consulate.  The Greek ambassador put on his glasses and began to inspect outside the dark window. A first glance revealed nothing, but a second seemed to give the appearance of ghosts.

“Ghosts?” said the Romanian, rolling his eyes. “You can’t be serious-“

But it was serious. The wall to his left burst with a terrible cry, and an armored woman of sorts with four crab claws began to ransack the conference room. She grabbed several staff members and sent them tumbling to their deaths out the window, and then focused her helmed gaze at the Romanian. “W-What are you?” he asked, quaking in his clothes.

“Your maker.” Without warning, Megaera reached with her claws and crushed the Romanian to death. Then she uttered a few words in a language long dead to the world, and Ares and a man with his head wrapped in bandages appeared.

“Your turn, Hush,” said Ares, impatient.

After arranging the bodies in a specific arrangement, Thomas pulled out several things, including a map of the Black Sea. Using the instructions from Ares, he circled the rough area of where Themiscyra was located in Turkey, and added in all caps text, “eminent threat from here. Greek mythological monsters may target us. Need to act fast.” For good measure, Ares went up to one of the few surviving diplomats, the only one that was conscious, and then put a hand on his head.

“He will now believe his attackers were Amazon,” said Ares, silently stabbing the men that were unconscious with a sword.

Everything was going as planned. The humans would debate the matter amongst them, and then send military forces to investigate. When the Amazons refused to subjugate themselves, some idiot human commander would trigger a fight. He saw two figures in the distance: one feminine and flying, the other a man dressed like a bat, grappling his way towards the building. No time to waste: Ares waved his arms and he, Hush, and Magaera all disappeared, leaving nothing but several dead and wounded, and some enigmatic clues.

\---

Diana was the first one in. Examining closely, she could find several hints that Ares had been here. However, such hints were only recognizable to those with Olympian blood. Though not of Zeus’s seed, she had been given enough gifts by the king of the gods to be considered his daughter. And no one except Bruce would believe her if she tried to explain it.

So she settled on checking on the survivors instead. The first two she checked were dead. The next two were alive, but in dire need of medical condition. As Batman crashed through a window and made an anonymous tip to 911, Diana checked on the fifth man, who looked barely alive. As she approached him, his eyes widened with inexplicable fear.

“N-No,” he stuttered. “Enough of your people.”

“My people?”

“Women dressed as Amazons, swearing to put an end to man’s ambition of Themyscira? You look just like the others.”

“Ares,” she muttered under her breath. It was bad enough that the god of war was let loose on the world, let alone plotting to bring misery on the Amazons. In a way, though, it made sense. Ares never left an old score go unsettled for long.

“This is Ares’ doing,” she said to Bruce. “He intends to start a war between humanity and my people.”

“How?”

“This man here has been led to believe Amazons were responsible for attacking him and his friends. Ares planted enough details in his head to make sure warships make their way towards Themyscira. Knowing my mother, she’ll be shocked and become defensive, and who knows what happens after that.”

“So?” Bruce asked Diana. “Tell someone that Ares and the Furies did it.”

“And who will believe me? I can’t just conjure proof out of thin air. Besides, knowing most military men, they’ll just view me as eye candy with idiotic ideas, as someone who doesn’t know her place.”

Bruce guessed the venom in those last words were from experience. The early twentieth century wasn’t exactly equal to women; that came later. Diana no doubt had to prove herself through sheer force. “It’s different these days.”

“I disagree. Some people never change.”

As the two of them realized they had bigger problems now than raising a team, Bruce and Diana recognized a team of soldiers dropping off from a helicopter to investigate the area. Their leader, a blond, scruffish looking man, was accompanied by an Asian woman wearing a half-face mask that looked like the flag of Japan.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I tried a bunch of things in this chapter: Suicide Squad tie ins, Diana being Diana, some attempts at building the relationship, and Alfred being insider. I'm not 100% sure of it, but y'all have been supportive thus far and I'll think you'll enjoy it.

"Captain Rick Flag, US Navy Seals." Flag had a gruff Southern accent and seemed to be a no nonsense person. The perfect soldier. "Batman and the Wonder Woman, I presume?"

"That's correct," said Diana, slightly flattered at being called a "wonder woman". Steve had called her that at his declaration of love for her many years ago.

"Director Waller sends her regards to both of you." Amanda Waller was the director if Argus, a US intelligence agency that ran operations that made the FBI and CIA look like pansies. "She believes this attack involved supernatural forces. Ma'am, I understand that you may have a conflict of interest here."

"Excuse me?" asked Batman defensively.

"Three hours ago, half the computers at Argus received this message." He pulled out a piece of paper and handed it to Diana. "Look familiar?"

It did. It was a battle cry used by her mother many times. They'd first used it during the Crusades, when both sides made an effort to wipe out the "female pagans". It wasn't the last time, either. "How does this prove anything?"

"The message was accompanied by the coordinates of this location. Judging from this and other information, it seems that this was an attack perpetrated by the Amazons, ostensibly to prevent diplomats from making what was perceived to be hostile contract. I'm going to have to ask you to come with me."

Flag attempted to pull Diana by the wrist, but she easily threw him off and rebounded him. "How dare you. I'm an Amazon."

"And if I'm right, the Amazons just killed three people." Though he kept his calm, Rick Flag's contempt for Diana was undeniable. The Asian woman put her hand on her katana, in case things went to shit.

"Let's not be hasty," said Batman, attempting to defuse the situation between what should have been allies. "I know Waller. She wouldn't be egging for a war unless there was hard proof. Diana here says otherwise."

"Her word is useless against physical evidence," said Flag. "I'll bet your ass that I'll be sent to Turkey with some Greek special forces to deal with her people." The way Flag had said "her people" didn't help anything in either Bruce's or Diana's eyes.

"Well, hold out judgement," said Bruce. "Amanda's not going to do anything that would cost her political influence. And I suggest backing off from the lady. My calculations suggest that the average Amazon is capable of lifting well over 2000 pounds. As crown princess, Diana probably lifts considerably more."

Rick raised an eyebrow. The Asian woman merely stared in silence. Clearly, she was her for her fighting skills, not to talk.

"All I'm saying is, you, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Waller don't get rash. Last thing we need is another incident."

Rick Flag stared again. A career military man, he was used to giving orders to civilians, let along vigilantes. But he eventually backed off, not giving a trace of whatever emotions he had in his mind. Along the way he muttered, "I don't take orders from fantasy princesses, no matter what they are."

Diana looked disgusted.

"Forgive him," the Asian woman said. "Waller has put enough pressure on us as it is already. I don't need to tell you how many times I've put up with both of them bickering."

Diana didn't change her facial expressions, though on the inside she was relieved to have another woman she could relate to.

* * *

"Men," said Diana after the whole thing was done with, at the Batcave. "They'll never change as a whole."

Bruce was surprised to still see the venom in her even after their conformation with the SEAL officer. Granted, Waller had probably pushed the man, but he'd gotten on Diana's nerves and that was something not desired. "Men are still good, Diana. Superman didn't die for nothing."

"Superman was an alien."

"And you're not exactly mortal either. Don't get sidetracked by the offhand comments of one officer. We still have a job to do and that's figuring out how to prevent a war with your people."

Right," said Diana, not very convinced. "The best thing for me to do would be to go back to Themyscira and warn my mother and sisters of an incoming and angry force of misdirected men. With the luck of Hermes, they'll restrain themselves and keep a fight from coming."

"Wouldn't telling them Ares is behind it be enough?"

"My sisters were bred for war. Despite our hatred of the war god, the core of our very nature is hard to change. Wouldn't you say the same about yourself as Batman, after all these years?"

Well, she had a point. His tactics had changed, his ways different, but the end goal was to make Gotham a better place. Though it had required an early maturity in the death of his parents to accomplish that.

"Prehaps."

Changing the subject (and secretly, not wanting the maddening yet stunning woman after him again), Bruce turned his efforts into looking up Rick Flag and Waller's activities. He found that Flag, contrary to what he'd said about being deployed overseas, was instead being looked at for a project called the Suicide Squad. Bruce dug deeper and found it composed of two bit criminals he'd locked up over the last few months. "Really? I do everyone a service of pulling them off the streets and they get to go back for jobs and less jail time? They went to jail for a reason."

"So are you taking back what you said about all men being good?" commented Diana. "Not bad coming from you."

He actually had to smile. Admittedly, it wasn't the funniest of statements, but after battling the supernatural you looked for some relief wherever you found it.

They did some more planning. The two of them would use the new Batwing (the old one had been destroyed in the fight with Doomsday) and go to Themyscira, in an attempt at damage control as Diana would plead with her mother not to let anything get out of hand. Meanwhile, Bruce set up watch tabs for all the members of the so called squad, as well as Rick Flag and "Katana" as she was codenamed, so that they could be dealt with should the need arise.

"I think that just about settles it," said Bruce, who stood up to face Diana, also standing. "You holding up?" he asked, brushing away a stray strand of her hair.

Diana was almost taken back. No one had done something like that to her expect Steve. And yet she let Bruce have his supposed way. "Yeah. No real problems. You should focus on yourself. You're human."

"And you're a goddess."

"Not sure if that's a compliment or flattery."

"How about both? " Without thinking, he leaned in and kissed her lightly on the cheek. "I'll see you in the morning," he said quickly, and without any hint of embarrassment. He then turned and walked towards his quarters in a fairly normal walking rate, once again not giving any hint of his feelings.

Men like that were a scarcity, thought Diana. She intimidated most with her looks and determination that was a trademark of the Amazons. As she retired to her own quarters, she decided to check in on Alfred, out of curiosity. The British butler was in the kitchen, restocking some pricy foods. "Alfred?"

"Ah, yes, Miss Prince. Can I help you? In search of a nighttime snack?"

"No thanks. Rather, I'd ask you for an honest assessment of how Bruce has been."

"He's as sane as ever." Alfred raised an eyebrow.

"Not quite sure about that. He showed the first signs of affection just now."

That got Alfred's attention. "Now did he? He's usually very under the wraps about that sort of thing. Never lets his emotions get in the way of anything, except maybe Masters Grayson and Drake."

"Well, he just kissed me and I didn't try to stop him in anyway."

Alfred thought about that for a moment. "That means two things. One, Master Bruce truly cares about you in _that_ way. I won't pretend to explain any of it, but the combination of your beauty and obvious strength may have a hand in it. Two, you most obviously return some of it, otherwise someone of your kind would not have permitted him to do it."

He had analyzed the situation fairly well. "Were you ever married?"

"Engaged, once. Didn't work out. A few weeks after calling it quits, I was employed by Bruce's father and have served the Wayne family ever since."

There was an awkward silence for a few seconds. Then Diana picked up crackers on the island and proceeded to stuff them in her mouth, if nothing else to break the silence.

"I won't pretend to be Master Wayne's love life guidance counselor," said Alfred. "I will say this: his career of Batman has sapped the happiness out of him over the years. If you can do anything to reverse that, it would make my lot in life a little bit better knowing he won't die bitter and alone."

Diana smiled at that. In the brief time she'd known the man, she understood how Bruce had kept him and how he made an excellent confidante. He kept to himself and offered supposedly dry, yet forceful, advice that he actually believed in.

"Does he know that you're interested in his love life?"

"He's like a son to me. A parent always wants what's best for their children."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thoughts on anything or the recent Comic Con trailers? That's what the comment button is for.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope I didn't go too fast in this chapter, but I wanted it out before Suicide Squad is released this friday.
> 
> Speaking of SS, has anyone else seen the reviews? I really hope that the third lukewarm film in the DCEU isn't going to put the franchise in emergency. You're welcome to message me about your thoughts on all the recent drama, I'm all ears and would love to discuss.

The Batwing wasn't designed to carry more than two people. So that's what Bruce improved upon when he was making his second one. The wingspan had expanded, mostly to handle the space of an extra person, in addition to the modified weapons systems and warning signals and everything else that usually came with an overhaul.

Diana had finished her morning routine before he had. He'd done an extra work out about half an hour before getting in the new Batwing. "Started doing in anticipation of a Superman attack," he said has he lifted heavier weights, dragged larger tires, and completed more pushups and situps. "I let the suit take care of the rest." Diana wondered whether he was being honest, or was trying to compensate for a world where mortal men, no matter how intelligent, were at the bottom of the pecking order.

The flight had two stops: one in London, to stop at a Wayne Industries warehouse and collect some stuff. The other was in Bucharest, to meet with a person Bruce had hired to do extensive research on Task Force X and its members. This included the military personal attached to the task force and its operations. The flight to London from Gotham was mostly silent. Diana knew she could have flown herself in half the time, but she found herself sticking with Bruce for the ride.

Alfred's comments from last night were still in her head. Through all the snark and crassness was a man who wanted the best for a metaphorical son. _Stop it, Diana. You knew what happened when you got too close to Steve._

Old habits die hard.

The "London" stop happened to be a small island in the middle of the North Sea. Bruce had bought the island to service him for international missions such as this one. Within a cave was a complete replica of the other Batcave. The surface held a lighthouse with two men sworn to secrecy about Batman's secret identity.

Ten minutes later, Bruce had refueled what he had needed and loaded several duffel bags of gear that had been in storage on the island for years. "How's your mother?" he asked Diana. "Please tell me she's more even headed than your sisters."

"She's hard for most people to pin down, but once they get to know her they usually warm up, given that they're not hostile."

"So, in other words, you and me for the past few weeks."

"What?"

"Don't pretend anymore. I've noticed the way you look at me when I'm not focused on you anymore. And your conversation with Alfred last night."

"That-"

"Don't. It's evident that I'm the most interesting man you've met in a very long time. I take it you didn't visit earth much after World War I?"

Finally relieved to see Bruce changing the subject on what was an awkward situation, Diana decided to just play along. "I grew wary of the world after my aunt's death. We all did. Even after using Circe's spell to bind Ares in his dimension and cure all the British wounded, the Allies still refused to acknowledge us. They refused to assist us in burying our dead and denied that we existed. We were deniable to them, a race of women that embarrassed their own troops, and they didn't give a damn."

"And Steve Trevor? I doubt he shared this general antipathy."

"He didn't. But the Allies forbade us from Europe. It wasn't like our horses and swords could match their tanks. We said our goodbyes and that was it."

"Were you… intimate?" He chose his tone carefully. He didn't want a distracted Wonder Woman in Themyscira.

She waited a moment. "Yes. I never told that to anyone else. Last I checked, his great grandson is the only person in his family who even has a clue of our relationship. Well, now do you."

Bruce looked sheepish. "Well, " he started, "when this mess is over with the Amazons, would you-"

A massive explosion occurred, at the top of the cavern. Falling out among the debris and rocks was a large chimera. This one was different from other chimeras due to the fact that it was a bit larger and had green limbs. The lion head was busy chewing what Bruce and Diana both knew was human flesh, while the demonic goat head looked at them eagerly. The beast savored a challenge.

Thinking fast, Bruce let go of Diana and dived towards a sword lying on a table at the opposite end of the hangar. The chimera saw this and walked towards him, but Diana struck first, striking the beast hard in its lion head with her fists. She kept a barrage long enough for Bruce to get the sword. When he did pass it to her, she barely dodged the snakehead lounging at her from an unseen angle. Now that she had the weapon, however, she meant business.

In one fell swoop, she slashed the monster's left arm, causing it to bleed heavily. However, despite the fact that the chimera was injured, it was nowhere near dead. Far from it. And the chimera was pissed, roaring with all three mouths. They'd all have to be removed, one at a time. She decided to start with the snakehead; its mouth breathed acid.

Dodging the snake attempts to grab her, Diana instead first knocked the head of the goat down to the steel floor, horns slamming against the hard metal. With it and the lion head both out of commission for the time being, Bruce launched a smoke grenade to keep the last head (the snake) from seeing clearly. While the chimera struggled to find its footing, Diana snuck up behind it and cut off the snakehead clean off.

The small victory, however, was also short lived. As soon as the other two heads saw what had happened, they were enraged, both spewing fire from their mouths. Both Bruce and Diana ran for cover when Bruce was trapped in an instantaneous black goo of sorts, which had come out of nowhere. Diana attempted to help him when another batch of good stopped her as well. She couldn't budge it at all.

This could only be one person. And that person descended from the spiral staircase that led to the decoy lighthouse. She was dressed in iridescent black robes and wore an elaborate headdress, because her station demanded it.

Alecto, Queen of the Furies.

"Well, if it isn't Diana herself," said the Fury queen, circling her like a shark hungry for prey. "And your latest fancy, I presume."

Neither of them said anything, only showing defiance in their eyes. The chimera whimpered, picking at its severed tail.

"Calm down, Wuffles, it'll grow back in a week," said Alecto in a commanding voice, and the beast immediately shut itself up. It knew who was the boss. "That was my favorite pet."

"Maybe he shouldn't have eaten two people while trying to get to us," retaliated Bruce.

"Both of them were ex-thieves and you knew it the whole time. They deserved their fates."

"You furies have no faith in humanity, do you?"

"Once," said Alecto, "when we thought we were doing the right thing. But men became worse. You may think you know how humanity works, my dear, but I don't think you have 2000 years of seeing it up-close."

"Men are still good. As a species. As a whole."

"Stop deluding yourself." Alecto conjured another batch of tar to cover Bruce's mouth. Bruce attempted to speak as the chimera approached him but could say nothing. He eventually resigned to what seemed to be his fate. Diana, for her part, struggled once more to break the spell, and looked at Alecto with pure hatred.

Normally I would teleport my victims to my personal palace of pain, but you had the bad fortune to have injured Wuffles, Diana," said Alecto. "I'd let you endure several bites of a chimera, but since your friend here seems to have an attitude problem, I'll let him have it instead."

Bruce showed no fear, though his eyes widened slightly.

"I'll kill you," snarled Diana.

"Go ahead, try. You can't. How fitting that the girl who defeated Ares can't beat a lesser deity called a fury." Alecto moved towards Bruce and ripped off the mouth goo. "You still have a choice, mortal. Forswear Diana, pledge yourself to Ares, and I'll let you live. Perhaps Ares himself might make you his bodyguard."

"If you think I'm going to be coerced into joining you and Ares, you've got to be joking. You obviously don't know anything about me."

"Of course," said Alecto mockingly. "Who am I kidding. Wuffles, go ahead and take a bite. We'll make him suffer piece by piece."

Ignoring Diana's protests, Alecto brought the chimera close to Bruce's chest. She pointed to his back. "Here, Wuffles. Here will cause the most harm without mortally injuring him."

Wuffles did, biting down hard. Bruce did everything in his power to keep himself from screaming. He'd been through worse, he thought to himself. As for Diana, she screamed in rage. Alecto was punishing Bruce to get to her. It was her that Ares and the Furies wanted. Alecto augmented the torture, pouring some sort of multicolored light into Bruce's wounds.

Ultimately, Bruce passed out and slumped. Diana wasn't sure if he was dead or alive. Alecto turned towards her, face confident and full of contempt.

"So," said the queen of the Furies, "where is Zeus to deliver you? Or your bitch mother? It seems your godly parent and relatives are unable to save you now?"

As if answering to Alecto's rhetorical question, another loud explosion occurred, Wuffles moved towards it, but was then slammed down by a grey skinned being with large, metallic looking wings. The newcomer wore a white robe with patches of gold armor sewn in between, and was armed with what appeared to be a flaming sword.

"Who are you?" asked Alecto angrily.

"I am Zauriel-lan-Lemuel of the Angelic Host. Or rather, I was. I forsake the Eternal City to defend the peoples of this earth when necessary. Today seems like such a day." He banged Wuffles' goat head against the steel floor, knocking out the beast. "Today your terror ends, servant of Ares."

"I am no servant-"

Alecto's response was ended by a massive blast of seismic sound waves that came out of Zauriel's mouth. Diana couldn't hear anything; the world became a literal blur as Alecto attempted to cover her ears and attempt to attack back at the angel.

"You are nameless and powerless against the might of God, heathen spirit," chanted Zauriel, keeping up the sound barrage. "By the might of Almighty God… deliver us from evil… and BEGONE!"

The last word spoken knocked out Alecto, who ultimately collapsed to a position similar to the one the still unconscious Bruce Wayne was residing. Diana, also freed of her restraints, rushed to Bruce's side. Despite everything she did, he didn't budge. Not sure if he was alive, she worriedly turned to the newfound protector and asked him, "What can you do for him?"

Zauriel turned to the Amazon, a race in near strength to his own, and saw her fear, her compassion, and her care for the man who may or may not have been dead. Instantly he knew that this woman, so powerful and yet so in need, was someone to rally around. Without saying a word, he turned to the injured man and inspected his wounds. While the chimera had clearly did a lot of damage, it was not irreversible.

"He is gravely wounded, my lady. But he is alive. He will need attention, but he is alive."


	8. Chapter 8

Bruce floated in and out of consciousness.

Though he didn't remember much, he knew he was carried by a gray, angel-like being, and that Diana followed. He heard her ask the being carrying him about his condition, as well as her own comments about wishing Bruce well and hoping he would survive.

He must have been in the air for hours. When he did arrive at the ground, he immediately heard an argument among what he assumed were the Amazons. "Why is Diana allowing another man into our homes. Why does she think she is unique because she was begotten by Zeus?"

"Because it is my will," came a forceful voice that must have been Diana's mother. "Servant of Yahweh, we thank you for your timely appearance. Please take this man to…"

More movement. Bruce was moved to a bed under a roof. He heard pieces of Diana's talking to both her mother and the angel. She told her mother that he reminded her of Steve, that men like him were only found once in a generation. That Superman had been another, but this one, mortal yet far seeing, was also to be greatly admired. The words "feelings" got tossed around by the Amazons assigned to guard the room, with Diana going on the defensive, like a schoolgirl accused of a crush.

* * *

Bruce awoke sometime in the middle of a late morning. His first reaction was how bright the room was. A mixture of cream and white gave an overall sense of brightness, almost as if he was in a hospital room.

And then were the frescos, all in the Ancient Greek style of art. Similar to the Greek vases in a museum, the red and black figures covered the upper parts of the walls, depicting a number of mythological scenes. Here was Zeus, leading his fellow Olympians against the Titans. Here was Athena, breaking out of her father's head. Here was Hercules, committing labor after labor.

One thing struck him differently, however: a series of scenes showing what appeared to be Amazons facing what could only be Prussian WWI soldiers, the men led by an armored giant. This, judging from what Diana had said earlier, was Ares. He was surrounded by multiple Amazons, though it looked like that none of them fazed him.

"I see you're admiring our history, the man who calls himself Batman."

Bruce turned his head to see a blonde, statuesque woman dressed for both battle and ballroom walk in, accompanied by two guards dressed in similar outfits.

"Hippolyta, I presume," coughed Bruce. His wounds had been well bandaged, but they hurt like a bitch, and he struggled to talk and cough. Clearly he'd need better attention on his lungs in the future.

"Yes, Bruce Wayne. May I be the first to welcome you to the island of Themyscira. Not many men have had the privilege of visiting it."

"How do you keep it hidden? Clearly a group of warrior women stick out like a sore thumb."

"The mountains to the south, west, and east are our natural barrier, with only the most experienced climbers able to even go halfway. The Black Sea protects us from the north, and even then Themyscira is only accessible from the north through a series of underwater caves. Suffice to say we are well isolated from man's world."

"Unless the Greek god of war wants you dead."

Hippolyta's face hardened at the mentioning of the name. She said to her lieutenants, "Leave us. What I am about to discuss is a more private matter." As the other two women left the recovery room, Hippolyta said to Bruce, "How much do you know about Ares and his imprisonment?"

"From what Diana tells me, he was put into a void or spell of sorts that kept him from drawing on the power of fighting. Clearly that withstood the test of time in WWII, and somehow survived the attempted terraforming of Zod in 2013, but it wasn't enough to withstand the sheer power of a Kryptonian deformity, I presume?"

She slowly nodded her head. "We Amazons know things your scholars and scientists could only dream of discovering. The Kryptonian deformity had the power to undo Circe's spell, which stated that only a monster created from both earthly and divine power could free Ares. Circe's help came with a price, one I hoped we would never come to light."

"Apparently not."

"Thousands of years of my sister's blood have stained the earth, and Zeus will never truly punish his favorite, firstborn son. That era of mistaken forgiveness ends today."

It was odd to Bruce that the Queen of the Amazons wasn't as hostile to him as one might expect. He had Diana to thank for that, no doubt. Instead of having to fill in details, he could go straight to the matters at hand. "So what's the plan?"

"The angel thinks he has one. His abilities were weaknesses to the Furies, and he brought Alecto here. Perhaps we can start with forcing a confession from her and her lesser followers in some way. If what you told my daughter about a potential human incursion created by Ares, we may need it. Not all of my sisters are so forgiving of the world of man for their transgressions."

Bruce nodded. "Makes sense. Proof of Ares' interference would calm things down."

"One can hope that, Bruce Wayne."

Hippolyta then left, snapping her fingers for her guards to follow her. Bruce stretched his back, now that he didn't need to sit up as straight. A moment later, Zauriel and Diana walked in. The angel stood to a side of the room while Diana positioned herself next to Bruce.

"So this is Themyscira," she said, with an air of levity in her voice.

"I mean, I'm currently confined to a bed, and only have one window to see miles and miles of sea, but I'll take your word for it.

Diana smiled weakly. "I hope my mother wasn't as hard on you as she was when she first talked to Steve Trevor."

"Depends on whether she treats every potential suitor for your hand as a foreign emissary."

"She's serious. A scout reported multiple warships coming in from the north. They couldn't be headed anywhere but here."

"Then we need to act as intermediaries and keep anything stupid from happening."

"No, you're staying here until you get some rest." Diana gently but forcefully put an arm on Bruce's chest, making him end his attempt to get up and laid him back down. "Zauriel, could you leave us?"

"As you wish." The angel levitated out the door, leaving the two surviving saviors of Metropolis to themselves.

"You need to recover, Bruce. You and I both know you're not of much use until your body is at least something of your former strength."

Bruce rolled his eyes. "My back was broken once. It was months before I put on the bat costume again. I can handle a few broken ribs and shit. Besides, better me than you."

"What?"

"I could tell that Fury at the base was planning on having you fed to the chimera. So I goaded her. Figured I would distract her long enough for the emergency measures I set to take place. If the floor had failed to detect my heartbeat, it would have set off a fairly large set of explosives. Contingency plan. The only reason that didn't happen was because of that angel guy."

Diana took a second to let it settle in. "So… you were planning to sacrifice yourself to save me?"

"More or less. I doubt most human explosives wouldn't seriously pose a threat to your health. Lion bites while trapped, on the other hand…" Bruce shrugged his shoulders.

Diana knew many stories of men in wartime that had given their lives to rescue or save another. History was full of them. What was new, however, was now she was on the receiving end of one such incident. As she was lost in thought again, Bruce managed to put a hand on her face. "Hey, you're in one piece. That's what matters."

"And you don't?"

"I'm a man that fought alongside the living version of a god and a woman who is near his equal. I was the odd man out. Besides, I'm getting too old for this. I already have Oracle, Nightwing, and Robin in place to take over my mission should I actually die."

Well, Diana thought, at least he has the willpower to live, at least at this moment. "You know I could kill you with a single punch?"

"I don't doubt that."

Their lips were only a few inches apart at this point. _Diana, you idiot. Don't do it._

She did it.

Kissed him.

With a little bit of force, in fact. She knew this was coming, the two of them had been on this course for the past few weeks. Bruce had always been drawn to the combination of strong and beautiful, while Diana had found someone unique among mankind: handsome, genuinely caring, a symbol of resistance against injustice, and a mortal man who'd transcended that, in a way.

All of this was doing exercises in her mind when the kiss broke. Both of them looked around, not entirely ready to admit that they had feelings for each other. Bruce spoke first: "So was that…"

"Yes, it was."

"Oh, ok." Bruce looked for something to pass the awkwardness. It had been a while since his last encounter of _that_ type with Selina. "Mind getting me some water? And a snack of any kind while you're at it?"

"Of course." She stood up, walked to the door, and turned around and smirked. "And you better not get up out of that bed."

"I'll try, princess."

His voice in that last word was a mixture of both smugness and underlying respect. Diana went to go get Bruce his snacks, but only managed to get to the outside of the building when an explosion rocked her off her feet.

She brushed the dirt out of her eyes to see Ares himself, standing in the middle of what must have been a portal. Several soldiers with modern weapons, one of which had his head wrapped in bandages, accompanied him. They began firing in all directions, while Ares himself stood and faced Diana in the eyes.

"Not yet, sister of my father's essence." With those words, Ares disappeared, and his men continued to battle the Amazons. The men were nowhere in numbers to the Germans that attacked the island in 1916, but were armed with much better weapons. One attempted to attack her by lunging with his rifle, but Diana grabbed it, snapped it, and threw him ten feet to her right.

She had to find Bruce. He was in an incredibly precarious positon. She wasn't going to let him slip out of her hands just yet.

* * *

Thomas Elliot ordered three of his men to create chaos, and the other three to follow him on his way to find the Batman – or rather, Bruce Wayne. The mercenaries chosen for this mission were handpicked for loyalty in the past and the ability to keep his mouth shut.

Time was of essence. The presence of the Enchantress and Incubus in Midway City – better known to archeologists and most of the world as Itzpapalotl and Tezcatlipoca respectively – had stepped up the timetable. Those rogue deities could be allied with, claimed Ares, but only if Ares himself was at full strength. The Amazons and Wayne were potential thorns, and needed to be distracted and dealt with swiftly.

An Amazon came charging at him with a spear. One of Hush's men gunned her down easily, but she was still alive. Hush picked up the spear, put it at her neck, and demanded, "Where's the Batman?"

"You'll never get to him," snapped back the Amazon, defiant to the end.

"Suit yourself." After plunging the spear, Hush began directing his men to comb the rooms in the building. No survivors, although the men began taking small trinkets as souvenirs. Hush personally took the last room, machine pistol in hand.

Time to kill an old friend.

* * *

Diana slammed another enemy against a statue of Poseidon, a gift from the seas many years ago. The man slumped, and Diana looked around. Some wounded, some dead, but most were also on their feet and attempting the find the attackers. Several smoke bombs had been set off, distorting everyone's field of view.

Diana began making her way to Bruce's recovery room. He was the odd man out, and the most likely target of the incursion. Along the way she found Zauriel, using his sonic scream to subdue a pair of the mercenaries who had had the bad luck of running into the angel.

"There's one more," said Zauriel when his sonic scream/trumpet blast was over. "Bandaged head, overcoat, and machine gun in hand. He went-"

"That way," said a shocked Diana, knowing that the direction pointed was Bruce's room. She rushed there, and found someone strangling another man in the smoke.

She only relieved herself when the man doing the choking was halfway straight in the bed.

"What?" asked Bruce slyly. "Didn't you say not to get out?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> t's see what to put in my notes this time: I hope nothing seemed forced/rushed or anything. The alternate names of Enchantress and Incubus are actual Aztec deities. I just borrowed the names. I don't know how well Amazons can handle bullets, so I kept it kind of vague for the fight.
> 
> One of my main criticisms about Suicide Squad was that the plot was a mess at times. This event seemed like something Flash and Wonder Woman should have handled, not a group of mostly untrustworthy criminals. Therefore, events from hereon out are taking place at the same time as the attack on Midway City, if only to explain where Bruce and Diana were.
> 
> Be sure to let me know what you thought!


	9. Chapter 9

The last of Ares' men surrendered not long after Bruce had knocked out Hush. Several Amazons were dead, but it was not the worst of losses, and considering that Ares himself had emerged in Themyscira it could have been even worse. On a more positive note, all of the mercenaries had been captured or killed.

"We need to prepare for war," announced Hippolyta. "An old foe has reemerged and we must fight him with every inch we have."

The entire island-peninsula complex was put on high alert. Guards were posted every ten feet. In the war council, Hippolyta summoned her most trusted commanders (along with Diana and Bruce, who'd managed to walk with the help of a crutch) to discuss the events for the next few days. They would be crucial.

"We use the lasso to uncover the truth from the prisoners," suggested Diana. "With the truth, we can negotiate with any armies that come seeking retribution for the events in America."

"And what will make _them_ believe you?" asked one of the other Amazons. "They'll just call it lies and demand worse from you. Did you not learn from the Great War?"

She hadn't. She left the world of 1918 with a belief that men would never change. That they would always be selfish and violent. However, her incursion to Metropolis changed that. Bruce had a large part in that.

"They'll listen," said Bruce, who'd been placed in a chair and no one was expecting him to speak much. "People know me as a world famous billionaire, not the Batman. I can use that to my advantage. They're not going to open fire if one of the world's richest men is in town."

The other Amazons looked at him confused. They didn't know how much diplomatic immunity Bruce had. But the few reports they'd gotten from Diana indicated that he was one of the most influential men in the outside world. Better to take advantage of that.

"Fine," said Hippolyta. "We will agree to your idea. When the troops from the outside world arrive, you and Diana will be there to clean up the mess. What updates to we have in regards to retribution efforts?"

"Our scouts indicate that a fleet of at least three nations – Greece, Bulgaria, and Romania – have crossed the Hellespont. The Turks aren't sending anything, but they aren't doing anything to slow them down either."

"That means they're in on it as well," suggested another Amazon, the one in charge of the cavalry. "Not for it, but not against it."

The rest of the council discussed preperations made in anticipation of the worst case scenario: all-out war with the three nations. If Ares could feed and foster the Great War, there was no doubt he could keep a few Balkan nations going. Ultimately, Bruce and Diana left. She assisted him in walking, although he insisted that she shouldn't.

"Don't," he said with some force. "I can handle myself."

"To Hades with that. You clearly need help walking, let alone fighting again."

"No I don't," He moved away from her and began walking halfway with his stick when he almost tripped. Luckily, Diana was there to hold him and keep him from hitting his head on the marble floor.

"See?" she asked sarcastically.

"Always the hero, princess."

* * *

"Took me some time, but I found them," said Dick Grayson to Bruce via pay phone. Dick, better known as Nightwing, had been the first Robin. After his parent's murder, Bruce had taken the young circus acrobat in and trained him to be an accomplice, becoming a second father in the process. When he'd reached an age where Batman had trained him all he could, Dick had left Gotham to become the protector of a nearby city, Bludhaven. The two still closely worked together, though. Recently, Bruce had asked him to break into an Argus safehouse in Kasnia to gather the information on Task Force X.

Waller probably should have just placed the information in a safe in America.

"What did you get?" asked Bruce.

"Everything you said, and more. You already know this, but Killer Croc, Deadshot, and Harley Quinn were forced into the squad with neck bombs, along with three others: a fire manipulator named El Diablo, an Australian professional thief by the nickname of Captain Boomerang, and a mercenary named Slipknot."

"I know all of them. And Waller needs to end that. In addition to being plain wrong, there are a million ways the idea of Task Force X could backfire. I would never put national security in the hands of people who should be behind bars."

"Agreed. I'm headed back to the states to see what I can do. Nightwing out." As the call ended, Bruce turned to Diana, at the other end. "What's on your mind?"

"Not much, really. It's just… if the two of us can't keep protecting the world on our own, maybe this Suicide Squad isn't the worst of ideas."

"That's why we're going after those other metahumans. The Justice League will exist because no one else can defend us, let alone a handful of freaks and two-bit crooks."

"And there you go again, making exceptions for the 'restored faith in humanity' philosophy. Second time in a week."

"I knew there was a reason I keep you around."

"As opposed to all the other conquests of Bruce Wayne?"

"Shut up and let me kiss you again."

* * *

At the same time Bruce was kissing Diana, a large fleet of some twenty ships was sailing along Turkey's Black Sea Coast. Their destination: Themyscira.

The commander of the combined force, Greek rear admiral Constantine Rouvas, watched the fleet from his personal flagship, the frigate _Navarinon._ In total, fifteen ships (five from each nation), along about fifteen hundred troops in various transports, were steaming towards an isolated community of what were presumably more metahumans.

Several days ago, the President of Greece handed Rouvas a secret order to work with his Romanian and Bulgarian counterparts to investigate Themyscira, who had been implicated in the murder of several diplomats in Gotham. Rouvas, for his part, went along with it: the metahumans were not a good thing to have in the world. Too many chances of things going wrong. Too many accidents and uncontrollable situations in the making.

His subcommander walked up to him. "Ten hours from here, sir. Today we put an end to a potential threat to not just this corner of the earth, but the world."

"I hope so," said Rouvas. "I hope so."

* * *

Dawn cracked like a film of light getting ever closer.

Bruce and Diana didn't actually sleep together, mostly because it wasn't exactly that time yet. But he was happy. At least as far as that was concerned. He hadn't been this close to someone since he'd dumped Selina for breaking her habit of accidently killing people. Actually, doing it on purpose.

Zauriel entered the room. "You may want to see this. I've been patrolling all night, given how angel physiology doesn't require sleep or eating, and I only recently discovered it."

Bruce got out, put on his armored suit minus a helmet, and went to join Zauriel, Hippolyta, Diana, and a dozen other Amazons all looking at the same thing. At least a dozen warships of various sizes, along with the regular assortment of troop transports and helicopters, were just barely in the horizon.

"We have a plan," Bruce reassured everyone. "We'll handle this on our own terms-"

Just then, the storms from the east began to gather and grow. Light rain became heavier by the second, blocking any change of the sun remaining in the day. Most of the Amazons took cover, until it was just Diana, her mother, Zauriel, and Bruce standing there. Lightning began to grow even larger all around.

"This can't be happening," said Hippolyta. "The speed of this storm is well beyond natural forces. I can only assume one of the gods is behind this."

"Which one?" asked Bruce. "Poseidon? Zeus? Or maybe Ares?"

"It could be one of the many that walk this earth," suggested Zauriel.

"What makes you think that? I thought from your perspective there's only one god," said Bruce.

"No, that was years of distortion from human error. We don't all go to God clubs and hang out, sure, but we acknowledge each other, even though every pantheon and creed believes itself to be the best. I suppose that's why all the religious strife exists."

Bruce filed the information away in his head. The more he knew about the unknown and forbidden, the better.

Then the actually really shocking happened. One of the clouds unleashed an even larger bolt of lightning. It transformed into multiple bolts that hit about half the ships, which by this point were in firing range of the beach. The ships stopped momentarily, and then began to sink as the full extent of the damage to the hulls were realized. The other ships began acting in various ways: some went to aid their comrades, while others proceeded to move themselves even closer to Amazon soil.

"Not good," uttered Bruce. No doubt the divine lightning would be seen as an act of aggression. "Zauriel, could you go fetch the surviving mercenary and bring him here? We need a confession if we're going to make it through this alive."

"As you wish." As the angel flew off, what appeared to be a destroyer stopped at the edge of the beach. Several patrol boats were released and sent to shore, containing about fifty or so men speaking Greek very angrily. As the got in formation at the sands, one of the men grabbed a microphone and began talking.

"Amazons, show yourselves."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shorter chapter, but with university starting this Monday I have other things to take care of. I am planning a Justice League story, though, based on Justice League Origin and Throne of Atlantis (with bits of JLA 6 and 7 sprinkled in for good measure). Thoughts?


End file.
